Fellow
Nick Spencer
Nick Spencer is Senior Fellow at the think tank Theos. His first degree was in English Literature and History from Jesus College, Oxford, followed (many years later) by a doctorate in political theology from Jesus College, Cambridge. In between, he has worked in research, at first quantitative and qualitative commercial and social research, and thereafter academic research into Christianity in contemporary British society. He has a particular interest in the history of ideas, in political theology and rhetoric, and in the relationship between science and religion.
His central concern throughout recent work has been on the interface of theological anthropology and wider scientific, legal and humanistic conceptions of the person. Nick is the author of twelve books, most recently The Landscapes of Science and Religion: what are we disagreeing about? (OUP, 2025), Playing God: science, religion and the future of humanity (SPCK, 2024), Magisteria: the entangled histories of science and religion (OneWorld, 2023). In addition, he has edited or contributed to a further eight volumes, and has written or edited over fifty research reports for Theos. In 2019, he presented a three-part series on BBC Radio 4 entitled The Secret History of Science and Religion and has made many appearances on BBC Radio 3, Radio 4, Radio 5, BBC News, Times Radio, etc. and occasionally TV, to talk about science and religion. He is the host of the ideas podcast Reading our Times.